Holiday star and methods therefor

ABSTRACT

A star-shaped decoration constructed of a plurality of pieces, each piece having plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, and with at least one detent close to the open bottom, and at least one slot close to the open bottom. Joining the pieces together forms a star-shaped decoration. When separated, the pieces may be nested for convenient storage.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to, and claims the priority benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/977,828, filed Apr. 10, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into this disclosure.

BACKGROUND

Holiday stars are frequently used to decorate homes during the holiday season. However, the holiday stars, like most holiday decorations, are burdensome to store during the remainder of the year. In the case of holiday stars, the stars very seldom fit back into their original packaging, thereby causing the stars to be stored in boxes with other holiday decorations. Often the star may become damaged during storage because the pointed ends of the star are susceptible to breaking. Even if the holiday star is positioned back in its original packaging, the packaging generally takes sufficient space, thereby adding to the troubles of storing holiday decorations.

Accordingly, there is a need for a holiday star that is easily packaged and stored using a minimal amount of space.

SUMMARY

In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a star-shaped decoration formed from separate pieces that are locked together to form the star is provided. Each of the separate pieces are hollow and have an opening at one end so that the pieces are nestable for packaging and storage. Each piece includes detents and slots, wherein the detents engage the slots of an adjoining piece. Each piece includes a flange to engage an opening of an adjoining piece when joining the detents of adjoining pieces. In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration of the present disclosure, an opening is formed in a center of the star, wherein the opening receives at least one light bulb.

In at least one embodiment, a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure comprises a first piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom.

In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, such a star-shaped decoration further comprises a second piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the second piece is joinable to at least one slot of the first piece and at least one detent of the first piece is joinable to at least one slot of the second piece.

In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, such a star-shaped decoration further comprises a third piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the third piece is joinable to at least one slot of the second piece and at least one detent of the second piece is joinable to at least one slot of the third piece.

In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, such a star-shaped decoration further comprises a fourth piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the fourth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the third piece and at least one detent of the third piece is joinable to at least one slot of the fourth piece.

In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, such a star-shaped decoration further comprises a fifth piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the fifth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the fourth piece and at least one detent of the fourth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the fifth piece. In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one detent of the fifth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the first piece and at least one detent of the first piece is joinable to at least one slot of the fifth piece.

In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure, when at least one detent of a first piece is joined to at least one slot of a second piece, at least one detent of the second piece is joined to at least one slot of a third piece, at least one detent of the third piece is joined to at least one slot of a fourth piece, at least one detent of the fourth piece is joined to at least one slot of a fifth piece, and at least one detent of the fifth piece is joined to at least one slot of the first piece, the first piece, the second piece, the third piece, the fourth piece, and fifth piece together take on a star-like shape.

In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure, a first piece, a second piece, a third piece, a fourth piece, and a fifth piece together define an opening in a star-like shape. In an aspect of such an embodiment, the opening is configured to receive at least one light bulb.

In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a star-shaped decoration comprises a sixth piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the sixth piece is joinable to at least one slot of a fifth piece and at least one detent of the fifth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the sixth piece. In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one detent of the sixth piece is joinable to at least one slot of a first piece and at least one detent of the first piece is joinable to at least one slot of the sixth piece.

In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure, when at least one detent of a first piece is joined to at least one slot of a second piece, at least one detent of the second piece is joined to at least one slot of a third piece, at least one detent of the third piece is joined to at least one slot of a fourth piece, at least one detent of the fourth piece is joined to at least one slot of a fifth piece, at least one detent of the fifth piece is joined to at least one slot of a sixth piece, and at least one detent of the sixth piece is joined to at least one slot of the first piece, the first piece, the second piece, the third piece, the fourth piece, the fifth piece, and the sixth piece together take on a star-like shape.

In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure, a first piece, a second piece, a third piece, a fourth piece, a fifth piece, and a sixth piece together define an opening in a star-like shape. In an aspect of such an embodiment, the opening is configured to receive at least one light bulb.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments described herein and other features, advantages and disclosures contained herein, and the manner of attaining them, will become apparent and the present disclosure will be better understood by reference to the following description of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for forming a holiday star and storing a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a piece of a holiday star formed in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a close up front view of the bottom of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a back view of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a close up back view of the bottom of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a top isometric view of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a bottom isometric view of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a front isometric view of several pieces of a holiday star in a nested configuration in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a front isometric view of a first piece of a holiday star being joined to a second piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a front isometric view of a first piece of a holiday star being joined to a second piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a front isometric view of two pieces of a holiday star being joined together in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a front isometric view of three pieces of a holiday star being joined together in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a front isometric view of four pieces of a holiday star being joined together in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a front isometric view of a final piece of a holiday star being joined to a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a front isometric view of a final piece of a holiday star being joined to a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is front isometric view of a fully assembled holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a front isometric view of a light being inserted into a fully assembled holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

The features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will be more apparent and better understood by reference to the following descriptions of the disclosed methods and systems, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the figures like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views, but not all reference numerals are shown in each of the figures.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of this disclosure is thereby intended.

Disclosed herein is a holiday star and methods therefor. The method 100 for forming a holiday star and storing a holiday star in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated in FIG. 1. In particular, at step 102, the pieces of the holiday star are separated. At step 104, a first piece of the holiday star is joined to a second piece of the holiday star. The pieces are joined by, at step 106 aligning a flange of one piece with an opening formed in the second piece. The flanges include male detents thereon and the a sidewall forming the opening includes slots formed thereon. At step 108, the first piece is rotated toward the second piece to lock the detents of the first piece into the slots of the second piece. At step 110, steps 104-108 are repeated with the remaining pieces to form the holiday star. At step 112, the holiday star is disassembled for storage by releasing the detents from the slots to separate the pieces. At step 114, the pieces are nested by positioning each piece within an opening formed in the bottom of another piece. Each of the pieces is hollow so that they may receive another piece for nesting.

FIGS. 2-7 illustrate a holiday star piece 120 having a closed top 122 and an open bottom 124. Angled sidewalls 126 extend from the top 122 to the bottom 124 and flare outward to the bottom 124. A pair of back sidewalls 128 form a back 130 of the piece 120 and a pair of front sidewalls 132 form a portion of a front 134 of the piece 120. A front panel 136 extends between the front sidewalls 132. The sidewalls 126 and the front panel 136 terminate at the bottom 124 of the piece 120 and form an opening 138 in the bottom 124 that opens into a cavity 140 formed by each of the sidewalls 126 and the front panel 136.

Flanges are formed on one side of the piece 120. In particular, a front flange 142 is extends from one of the front sidewalls 132 and the front panel 136, and a back flange 144 extends from the adjacent back sidewall 128. Each of the flanges 142, 144 extends outward from a centerline 146 of the piece 120. Each flange 142, 144 includes detents 146 formed thereon. The detents are formed on a top 148 of each flange 142, 144 and extend upward in the direction of the top 122 of the piece 120.

The front sidewall 132 opposite the sidewall 132 having the front flange 142 includes a slot 150 extending therethrough, and the front panel 136 includes a slot extending therethrough. Likewise, the back sidewall 128 opposite the sidewall 128 having the back flange 144 includes slots 150 extending therethrough. The slots 150 are sized to receive the detents 146 when the piece 120 is attached to another piece 122.

It should be appreciated that although the flanges 142, 144 and detents 146 are described with respect to being positioned on one side of the piece 120, and the slots 150 are described as being positioned on the opposite side of the piece 120, the flanges 142, 144, detents 146, and slots 150 may be arranged on the piece 120 in any fashion that enables the piece 120 to be coupled to another piece 120 by locking the detents 146 of one piece 120 into the slots 150 of another piece 120.

FIG. 8 illustrates five pieces 120 being nested together for packaging or storage. Particularly, the top 122 of the bottom piece 120 is inserted into the cavity 140 of the next piece 120. The remaining pieces 120 are then nested in a likewise fashion by inserting the tops 122 of each piece into the cavity 140 of the adjacent piece 120 to form the nested set of pieces 120. In the nested state, the pieces 120 are arranged so that the flanges 142, 144 of each piece 120 are aligned with the flanges 142, 144 of the other pieces 120.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a first piece 120(a) being joined to a second piece 120(b). The flanges 142, 144 (flange 144 is not shown in FIGS. 9 and 10) of the first piece 120(a) are inserted in the cavity 140 of the second piece 102(b), as shown in FIG. 9. The second piece 120(b) is then rotated in the direction of arrow 160 to lock the detents 146 of the first piece 120(a) into the slots 150 of the second piece 120(b). FIG. 11 illustrates the first piece 120(a) joined to the second piece 120(b). Additional pieces 120 are then added in the same manner. FIG. 12 illustrates a third piece 120(c) joined to the second piece 120(b). FIG. 13 illustrates a fourth piece 120(d) joined to the third piece 120(c).

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate a fifth piece 120(e) being joined to the fourth piece 120(d) and the first piece 120(a) to complete the holiday star. The flanges 142, 144 (flange 144 is not shown in FIGS. 14 and 15) of the fifth piece 120(e) are inserted into the cavity 140 of the first piece 120(a), as shown in FIG. 14. The fifth piece 120(e) is then rotated about arrow 162 so that the detents 146 of the fifth piece 120(e) lock into the slots 150 of the first piece 120(a). Concurrently, the flanges 142, 144 (flange 144 is not shown in FIGS. 14 and 15) of the fourth piece 120(d) position within the cavity 140 of the fifth piece 120(e) so that the detents 146 of the fourth piece 120(d) are locked into the slots 150 of the fifth piece 120(e) to form a completed holiday star 170, as illustrated in FIG. 16.

It should be noted that although the holiday star 170 shown in FIG. 16 includes five pieces 120 forming a five pointed star, the holiday star 170 may be configured with any number of pieces to form a star having more or less than five points, for example a six pointed star.

As illustrated in FIG. 16, a bottom 172 of the front panels 136 of each piece 120 define an opening 174 in the front of the holiday star 170. As illustrated in FIG. 17, a light bulb 176 may be inserted into the opening 174 to illuminate the holiday star 170. It should be noted that other openings may be formed in the holiday star 170 to receive additional light bulbs 176.

After use, the holiday star 170 may be disassembled by applying pressure to each piece 120 to remove the detents 146 from the corresponding slots 150. The pieces 120 of the holiday star 170 may then be nested for storage as illustrated in FIG. 8.

While this disclosure has been described as having a preferred design, the systems and methods according to the present disclosure can be further modified within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using its general principles. For example, the methods disclosed herein and in the appended claims represent one possible sequence of performing the steps thereof. A practitioner may determine in a particular implementation that a plurality of steps of one or more of the disclosed methods may be combinable, or that a different sequence of steps may be employed to accomplish the same results. Each such implementation falls within the scope of the present disclosure as disclosed herein and in the appended claims. Furthermore, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this disclosure pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A star-shaped decoration comprising: a first piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, said angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to said open bottom and at least one slot close to said open bottom.
 2. The star-shaped decoration of claim 1, further comprising: a second piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, said angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to said open bottom and at least one slot close to said open bottom, wherein said at least one detent of said second piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said first piece and said at least one detent of said first piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said second piece.
 3. The star-shaped decoration of claim 2, further comprising: a third piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, said angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to said open bottom and at least one slot close to said open bottom, wherein said at least one detent of said third piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said second piece and said at least one detent of said second piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said third piece.
 4. The star-shaped decoration of claim 3, further comprising: a fourth piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, said angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to said open bottom and at least one slot close to said open bottom, wherein said at least one detent of said fourth piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said third piece and said at least one detent of said third piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said fourth piece.
 5. The star-shaped decoration of claim 4, further comprising: a fifth piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, said angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to said open bottom and at least one slot close to said open bottom, wherein said at least one detent of said fifth piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said fourth piece and said at least one detent of said fourth piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said fifth piece.
 6. The star-shaped decoration of claim 5, wherein said at least one detent of said fifth piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said first piece and said at least one detent of said first piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said fifth piece.
 7. The star-shaped decoration of claim 6, wherein when at least one said detent of said first piece is joined to at least one said slot of said second piece, at least one said detent of said second piece is joined to at least one said slot of said third piece, at least one said detent of said third piece is joined to at least one said slot of said fourth piece, at least one said detent of said fourth piece is joined to at least one said slot of said fifth piece, and at least one said detent of said fifth piece is joined to at least one said slot of said first piece, said first piece, said second piece, said third piece, said fourth piece, and fifth piece together take on a star-like shape.
 8. The star-shaped decoration of claim 7, wherein said first piece, said second piece, said third piece, said fourth piece, and fifth piece together define an opening in said star-like shape.
 9. The star-shaped decoration of claim 8, wherein said opening is configured to receive at least one light bulb.
 10. The star-shaped decoration of claim 5, wherein said first piece, said second piece, said third piece, said fourth piece, and fifth piece may be nested.
 11. The star-shaped decoration of claim 5, further comprising: a sixth piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, said angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to said open bottom and at least one slot close to said open bottom, wherein said at least one detent of said sixth piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said fifth piece and said at least one detent of said fifth piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said sixth piece.
 12. The star-shaped decoration of claim 11, wherein said at least one detent of said sixth piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said first piece and said at least one detent of said first piece is joinable to at least one said slot of said sixth piece.
 13. The star-shaped decoration of claim 12, wherein when said at least one detent of said first piece is joined to at least one said slot of said second piece, said at least one detent of said second piece is joined to at least one said slot of said third piece, said at least one detent of said third piece is joined to at least one said slot of said fourth piece, said at least one detent of said fourth piece is joined to at least one said slot of said fifth piece, said at least one detent of said fifth piece is joined to at least one said slot of said sixth piece, and said at least one detent of said sixth piece is joined to at least one said slot of said first piece, said first piece, said second piece, said third piece, said fourth piece, said fifth piece, and said sixth piece together take on a star-like shape.
 14. The star-shaped decoration of claim 13, wherein said first piece, said second piece, said third piece, said fourth piece, said fifth piece, and said sixth piece may be nested.
 15. The star-shaped decoration of claim 13, wherein said first piece, said second piece, said third piece, said fourth piece, said fifth piece, and said sixth piece together define an opening in said star-like shape.
 16. The star-shaped decoration of claim 15, wherein said opening is configured to receive at least one light bulb. 